The importance of protecting your rental

Background checks – tick. Bond lodged – tick. Insurance – already sorted. Or is it? Insuring a rental property isn’t quite the same as insuring the house you live in. Find out how landlord cover could help provide additional protection for your rental.

Why it’s important to protect your rental

A rental property can be a valuable investment, but as with any investment, there can be risks. As a landlord, you may find yourself footing the bill if things go wrong with your tenants or property. That’s why having the right protection in place is so important.

Regardless of what insurance cover you choose, it’s important to take the time to understand how it works and what your options are, so you can ensure your cover meets your needs.

The benefits of landlord cover

Landlords can sometimes be surprised to learn that standard home insurance may not cover everything they need for their rental properties. Generally, home insurance may only cover things that are permanently fixed to the house, such as a kitchen, bathtub, or carpet. It might not cover things like furniture or other chattels.

Typically, home insurance policies are designed to cover accidental damage – not deliberate. That means you might not be able to rely on a home insurance policy if a tenant causes damage to your property on purpose.

This is where specific cover for landlords could be useful. Landlord cover may provide protection for events that are specific to rental properties – like damage by tenants, loss of rental income, or your legal liability as a landlord. For example, Vero, our trusted partner, offers an optional Landlord’s extension on their home insurance policy. This may cover things like loss of rent and malicious damage caused by tenants. 

Things to consider

Your options

If you decide to purchase specific landlord cover, this could be an add-on to your standard home insurance policy, or it might be a separate landlord insurance policy.

If you decide you don’t need specific landlord cover for your rental, depending on your home insurance policy, you may need to tell your insurer that your property is tenanted rather than owner-occupied − as there may be special conditions or excesses applied to your policy.


Your obligations

While landlord insurance is designed to help protect your investment, your obligations may not stop there. It’s also a good idea to think about how you're going to keep up with the necessary maintenance, meet any property legal requirements, and how you’re going to select tenants who care as much about the property as you do.

If you choose to take out specific landlord cover for your rental property, make sure you thoroughly read the policy document so you’re aware of any policy conditions and landlord obligations that might need to be met, to keep your insurance valid. For example, you may need to be careful when selecting your tenants, make sure you receive rent payments, and inspect your property regularly so you can identify and solve any problems as soon as possible.

Vero’s Landlord extension

At ANZ, we’ve partnered with some of New Zealand’s leading insurance specialists to help you protect what’s most important. For home and landlord insurance cover, our trusted partner is Vero. Find out more about how Vero’s Landlord’s extension benefit can help protect your properties and to check whether it’s right for you.


Important information

All ANZ Asset Protector policies are underwritten and issued by Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited (Vero) and distributed through ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited (ANZ). Full terms, conditions and exclusions apply. No member of ANZ or its related companies or any other person guarantees Vero or its subsidiaries or any of the products issued by them. ANZ may receive a commission on any policy it arranges.

This email contains information only and is not financial advice. For more information about your cover talk to one of our team at Vero on 0800 831 123. Please note, Vero is not able to give you financial advice.